Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-10-12

express train, but it was too late to avert the
disaster The two men leaped from their cab
and then the crash came.
The engine of the freight plunged so far
into the rear Pullman that its upperworks
dropped off iii the center of the coach. The
conclusion drove the second heavy sleeper
into the day coach which was reduced to
splinters The platforms Of every car were
torn away, and the ends of each coach were
broken like egg-shells The cars of the
freight train were hurled in every direction.
The upperworks of the engine were torn
away, the tender thrown across the track,
and piled up for twenty rods about the prai-
RE were hundreds of pounds of meat
There were Baker improved heaters on the
express train but notwithstanding this sup
posed improvement over the deadly stove
the Goals in the heater quickly set fire to the
upholstery of the rear Pullman, and in five
minutes flame which at first was scarcely
larger than a ribbon spread into brisk
blaze, and soon enveloped the shattered
coaches and their screaming occupants The
light from the fire illuminated the sky for
miles around and startled the farmers who
had not yet gone TO bed. Through the rain
and mud the rescuers came. Meantime the
but slight injuries, were hard at work drag
ging tue helpless passengers from their blazing
prisons Nearly all were found TO have been
hurled to the front end of the coaches where
they were pinned and crushed by the heavy
tmbers and irons of the platforms. The fire
burned with the appalling rapidly of all
railroad fires Reinforced by the farmers
and their sturdy boys the trainmen set about
their work with a will, There was water
Close at hand, and pailful after pailful was
dashed into the cracking mass
The railroad officials claim that there were
but twenty passengers on the train, but
the men who stood ABOUT the wreck declared
that the screams and appeals of mercy came
from double that number of human beings
The Pnilmans. although the first to receive
the shock, did not leave the track, but
burned where they stood. So far as known
not life was lost in these coaches There
were but few persons in the berths, and al
though all were hurled, one upon the other,
ali escaped through the windows before the
flames burst through the flooring.
1t was in the day coach that the slaughter
occurred This frail box was smashed 10
atoms. The sides few out and the heavy
roof sprang into the air and then came down
upon the score or more human beings who
lay pinned beneath the seats.
There was a Bohemian family named
Miller in this Inflated coach They were
from Dundee, Ill, and all were en- route for
Hungary The father, mother and two
daughters sat vis-a-vis Behind the parents
were their two sons When the heavy Pull
mans drove the day coach against the bag
gage-car the entire family were hurled over
the seats and driven between the ends of the
two cars. The flames moved up from behind
with fearful rapidity. The father and hus-
band lay dead with an iron rod through his
hroat, but the rest of the unfortunate family
were still alive when the train men sought to
rescue them, Everything was done to drag
,he children from the pile hut with
aut avail The fire crept nearer
and nearer until finally cushion of a seat
bazsd up just above the woman's head The
poor creature tried to speak, but no intslligi-
hle sound escaped her lips Then she at
tempted to pass one of her girls n Wee mite
If thing whose white apron was stained
with blood, to the rescuers who were crowd
ed about tine terrible scene When the woman
that death was inevitable she closed her
ayes as If in prayer, and, wrapping her only
free arm arOuI d the waists of the children
lying nearest her, awaited the coming of the
flames. From this unfortunate family but
one member escaped alive He was one of
the sons Herman by name, bright lad OF
"a. who managed to break out of the furnace
just as his parents persisted. The boy now
lies at hotel in this city. He is crushed
ahout he head and it Ii thought he can not
live
A middls-aged Irish lady, who was In the
day coach, was caught under a stove and
thus imprisoned she was burned to death be-
fore the eyes of the spectators DR. William
Perry, of North Judson his wife and little
daughter We're all asleep when the crash
came The conclusion hurled them over the
seats and piled them with the other unfor-
Inmates in the front end of the car. Mr..
Perry made terrible struggle for life He
succeeded in getting half OF his body through
one of the windows but the timbers of the
roof which had fallen down held
MS legs IN vice-tike grip
Below the doomed man lay his wife
and child. They had hoped that the husband
and father, who had wormed his way SC
near to freedom, would come to rescue them
When they realized that their doom was ir-
reyosably sealed they screamed frantically,
and drove the father wild with their piteous
cries. Another effort was made to drag
the doctor from the window, but wave of
flames drove the rescuerS back upon the prai-
RE, where they watched the gray head drop
upon the window sill and finally disappear
from view
When the flames had spent their fury a
hundred men and boys invaded the wreck
aud began to search for the bodies. But one
dead remained untouched by fire. This was
the body of man supposed by railway Off
cials to have been tramp who was stealing
ride on the freight train. His head and
breast were crushed to pulp In the ruins
of the day coach the blackened and dismem-
bered bodies of nine persons were found. The
sickening pile of ashes and flesh lay near the
front end, although fingers and even thigh
bones were picked up near the center of the
coach This leads many to believe that at
least fifteen, and perhaps twenty, persons
lost their lives
As fast as bodies were discovered they
we're borne to the prairie, where, In the glare
of immense brush fires, they were piled
upon the yellow grass and autumn leaves
The wounded, who numbered seventeen, were
taken to the village hoeel Without single
exception all were injured about the head
Before it was yet daylight men with teams
picked up the bodies, and placing them in
rough pine box bore them to this village
where they were placed in a baggage-car
pending the coroner's inquest The hatful